As of an hour before polls closed, nearly a third of Rochester voters had cast ballots in Tuesday's election, with turnout the highest in the east and southeast sections.

Turnout was identical countywide at an estimated 31 percent, based on a sample of districts that reported results to the Monroe County Board of Elections. Those figures were the most recent available.

Of that sample, the highest turnout was in Districts 7 in the city's northernmost tip, 21 on the east side and 24 along the city's southeastern territory.

The number of voters who showed up in the city rivaled September's primary election, when turnout was about 22.6 percent, but only Democrats went to the polls in that contest. Countywide, turnout lagged behind the 2005 general election, but was slightly higher than in 2009.

Sharpie markers provided at polling places sometimes bled through the two-sided ballots, but Monroe County Election Commissioner Peter Ferrarese said this appeared to cause no problems.

The ovals that voters had to fill in on either side of the ballot did not line up, so marks that bled through would not have caused scanners to misread any votes, Ferrarese said. "As long as they don't line up, there's no issue," Ferrarese said.

The Board of Elections heard concerns from voters about the markers throughout Election Day, including from Valerie Brownstein of Greece, who said the ink bled through her ballot and the optical scanner rejected it numerous times before she pressed the "accept vote as cast" button.

"I'm not sure my vote was cast accurately," she said.

According to a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, each county board makes its own determination on the pens used based on the quality of the paper stock for the ballots and the recommendation of the machine vendor as to what is appropriate for the scanner.

The ballot machine manufacturer recommended Sharpies after the county used a different type of pen last year, but the ink rubbed off and forced poll workers to clean the machines more often than otherwise necessary, according to Ferrarese.